This invention relates to a fusible electric cable protector as widely known in the art and widely used. A prior art cable protector is, for instance, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,223 to P. C. Jacobs, Jr.; May 5, 1965 for Fusible Protective Device for Cable Protection.
The connector elements of cable protectors vary depending upon the particular application thereof. If a cable protector is intended to interconnect a bus bar, or the like, and a cable, one connector element will be in the shape of a blade contact, or the like, adapted to be connected, e.g. screwed, against a bus bar while the other connector element will be adapted to be connected to a cable, e.g. may be tubular to receive the end of a cable as shown, for instance, in FIG. 4 of the above referred-to patent.
One connecting element may also be rod-like, in which case the outer surface thereof is engaged by annular contact means adapted to insert it into an electric circuit of a cable. Cable connectors having rod-like connecting elements are relatively heavy and require a relatively large mass of metal for the connecting element, or elements.
The pressure generated in all prior art cable connectors is relatively high, and while high pressure contributes to effective arc-interruption, it also requires great mechanical stability, in particular a great dynamic strength of the casing.
To allow the hot arc products to leak out of the casing is not permissible because this might short-circuit other parts between which a voltage gradient exists.
The present invention provides an improved electric cable protector which is not subject to the aforementioned disadvantages of prior art cable protectors.